pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: ethic


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Love Them As Yourself

Reading: Leviticus 19:33-37

Leviticus 19:33-34: “When immigrants live in your land with you, you must not cheat them… You must love them as yourself.”

Photo credit: Wylly Suhendra

Leviticus 19 is titled “Living as Holy People” in my study Bible. The chapter is centered on the ethics of holiness and love and is grounded in God’s statement found in verse 2: “You must be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” In verses 33-37, today’s reading, the focus is on how one treats the immigrants living among you.

In the first two verses we see how the ethics of love and holiness should be applied to the immigrants living in the land: “When immigrants live in your land with you, you must not cheat them… You must love them as yourself.” There is a connection here to Israel’s time as slaves in Egypt. This becomes clear in the next verse. There is an element of “remember how poorly you were treated” being connected to “then don’t do that to others.” Our human nature can tempt us to pass mistreatment we’ve known along to those with less power or with less voice because Satan’s lie is that this behavior will somehow make us feel better.

In Egypt there were two sets of weights for the scales. A heavier set required the Israelites to produce more brick, harvest… to meet their work quotas. A lighter set yielded less when they bartered for needed items. Fair treatment is what God is calling Israel to in today’s verses. It is what we are still called to today.

Treating everyone the same is what we are called to do as we practice God’s ethics of love and holy living. We can be tempted to take advantage of or to mistreat those with less power or less voice and this can happen in many ways – economically, socially, politically. When tempted, may we remember the charge to “love them as yourself.”

Prayer: Lord God, help us to be holy as you are holy. Guide us to love others as you love us. May the way we treat the outsider, the powerless, the voiceless, the marginalized reflect how we would hope to be treated if we stood in their shoes. Empower us to stand for justice with compassion. Strengthen us to stand against prejudice and marginalization. Amen.


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Difficult but Necessary

Readings: Ezra 7, Ezra 8, Ezra 9, Ezra 10

Ezra 10:4 – “Get up, for it is your duty to deal with this matter; we will support you. Be strong and act.”

Ezra the priest and scribe enters the story. The opening verses serve as a sneak preview or overview. King Artaxerxes supports Ezra’s trip with a letter that recognizes the purpose of the trip and provides the needed financial resources. Ezra’s main goal is to teach the Torah to the Israelites, forming them once again into the people of God. Ezra then gathers and organizes those ready to return. There are 12 lay families and 2 priestly families present. But he finds that there are no Levites present. They are needed for the daily operations of the temple. Ezra rounds up some Levites. He then calls for fasting and prayer – to submit to God and to seek safe travels.

Upon a safe arrival and a few days rest, the gold and other items are transferred to the temple. Offerings are given and then the king’s letter is given to the local Persian authorities. Ezra then learns of the peoples’ latest sin. Upon hearing of their marriages to non-Israelites he tears his clothing, pulls out hairs, and sits in shock. This will be a serious roadblock to reestablishing the people of God. In the charge, Canaanites, Moabites, Ammonites… are named. There is much negative symbolism and actual negative experiences attached to these names. As Ezra sits in shock, others gather around him, joining his weeping. Ezra prays to God, acknowledging past sins and this sin. He leans into God’s grace and mercy.

Shecaniah steps forward from the crowd. He too acknowledges their sin. And he speaks of hope. He suggests a covenant to send away these foreign wives and their children. He turns to Ezra and says, “Get up, for it is your duty to deal with this matter; we will support you. Be strong and act.” Emboldened by these words, Ezra gathers all Israel. They make a solemn pledge in accordance with Shecaniah’s words. A plan is made to deal with this sin. They hold one another accountable. The matter is resolved.

This was a difficult but necessary step at this time. It was necessary to establish a singular ethnic and cultural identity for Israel. Through the teaching of the Torah, the people understood this was a necessary step that had to be taken to become the people of God, holy and set apart.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to see the necessary but hard steps that we need to take at times to be wholly yours. Send a voice to encourage us, to speak truth and love and hope and grace to empower our steps. And, as Ezra did, lead us to trust that your love and grace will lead the way. Amen.